1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to a filling apparatus; particularly to apparatus for liquid loading of webbed flexible containers as are used by the beverage industry.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of The Invention
In recent years soft drink beverage manufacturers and others have felt the necessity of improving their production and packaging operations. One improvement of recent importance has been the development of flexible plastic webbed containers typically of rectangular shape which come in various sizes such as two and one half (21/2) and five (5) gallon volumes for soda fountain syrup usage. These flexible containers are shipped in a continuous webb to soft drink bottlers who then fill the containers, separate them and ship them to distributors and the like. Conventional filling methods have been somewhat unsatisfactory because of their slow operating speeds due mainly to the extensive use of air cylinders to control the motion of the various mechanisms incorporated in conventional filling stations. Also a slight misalignment of any of the filling equipment can cause delays and downtime of the entire filling line. In addition, prior art filling stations have separated the containers from the web both before and after filling. Container separation after filling can sometimes be disadvantageous in that filled containers are heavy and bulky and may be damaged during separation. Likewise, containers loaded with liquid are difficult to align or realign on a conveyer or other means used to transport them from the filling operation for packaging and handling purposes.
Thus with the problems and disadvantages associated with prior art filling devices, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a high operating speed apparatus for rapidly and efficiently filling containers of the webbed or continuous type.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide programmable servo-motor controllers to allow precise, accurate, and quick movement of the filling head and associated members.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a main programmable controller to regulate the operation of the filling apparatus including the programmable servo-motor controllers.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide filling apparatus which utilizes an air table having a shallow gutter-like configuration which self-aligns the containers lengthwise along the path of travel for ease and simplicity in conveying loaded containers in automated systems.
It is yet still another objective of the present invention to provide a filling head which includes a fluid conduit which is resiliently biased to prevent liquid flow while efficiently eliminating gasses from the container prior to filling.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.